Essential hand luggage checklist

This is your Essential hand luggage checklist. All you really need is your bag and this is what to pack in your hand luggage for maximum enjoyment and comfort. So you’ve booke d your flight and’s Hand Luggage only, so that’s one small carry on and a cabin bag with a 10kg weight limit.

First things first, find the right bag and case. Check out the essential cabin bag checklist, what to pick and what to pack in it to make the most of your 10kg allowance. Once on the flight you don’t want to be getting up and down to get things out of it so here’s showing you the right bags and what to pack in the bag that stays with you – under the seat.

For our flights short or long, I have my handbag and Taz has his backpack. We are super organised and this makes the whole flying experience so much more chilled and pleasant. Mine is this one.

For our Stockholm trip we had the Tripp cabin cases. For hand luggage I had my handbag which is the small Kipling Cross body bag below, with many pockets for passports etc, comes in loads of different colours, I’ve got this bright stripy one as it goes with nothing which makes it go with everything somehow. Love it and goes over my shoulder so my hands are free. Its £58 on the Kipling website but only £35.40 for any colour on Amazon with free delivery with Prime.

The bag that Taz takes on board is a Healthy Back pack. We found rucksacks a bit of a pain in terms of comfort and practicality. The Healthy Back Pack goes over one shoulder so is much more comfortable and better for your back. Also has loads of pockets, Key ring , bottle place. On Healthy Backpack website they are £65, plus delivery £5.50 or £8 for next day. There’s some on Amazon – Navy Healthy Backpack for £73.50 so if you have Prime that makes sense. Loads of different colours and sizes.

This is your essential hand luggage checklist – what to pack in your hand luggage so your cabin bag can stay undisturbed in the overhead lockers.

Passports and boarding passes. Yes it’s obvious but most people know someone who’s got to the airport and forgot their passport. It’s fine to have your boarding pass on your phone but I like to have paper copies. I always have a plan B (and C!). Equally email yourself a copy of your passport, credit card (back and front) and all your booking info. So if you lost your phone and cards and everything, you can easily get online somewhere and retrieve that information.
Currency. Please be the person that organises this in advance, you’ll save yourself loads of money. You can order this online for collection or delivery. Check out the best rates. Lots of places match the best available rate so it’s a matter of spending a few minutes looking online and off you go. Your bank will offer lower rates for account holders though they still may be high. Rates also get better the more you change, so team up with your travel buddies and change together. Changing at the Airport is the worst thing you can do, rates are appalling so avoid.
Specialist Overseas credit card. When you spend abroad an a debit or credit card you get charged an exchange rate and a fee. With a specialist credit card your exchange rate is the bank rates with no additional charges so saves you money everytime you use it. See my article here for full details.
Phone / Ipad or whatever you listen to music / books or watch films on. Fully charge the night before and films downloaded (Sky Go is great for this), music and books saved offline to your device. We have films from SkyGo, Books from Audible and music from Spotify ready and waiting for us.
Antibacterial wipes, tissues, chewing gum and a little plastic bag. There is no way that the plane (especially the tables) are cleaned after every flight. It grosses me out the amount of germs cultivating on a plane. Give everything a wipe when you sit down, chew gum at take of and landing, pop it in tissue when you’re done and put it in your rubbish bag.
Water and snacks. There is no need to buy ridiculously overpriced, unappealing food and drinks on the plane. For a flight that’s only a few hours, eat before and buy water before. If you have lounge passes then make the most of it, you can take a bottle of water from the lounge for the plane. If not have something decent, yes it’s still dear at the airport but a Pret sandwich, latte and lemon cake is far more delicious than a plane sandwich. Get your water from Smiths or Boots (take your loyalty cards), and if you want a snack, bring your favourite from home. Mmmm Twiglets.
Headphones and the adaptor. Last flight we got on Taz went to put his headphones in and Nooooo – where he’d upgraded his phone to an iPhone XR (story here) we’d forgotten to bring the converter thing that plugs the headphones in. He used his ipad instead but we must remember next time.
Glasses or spare contacts and eye drops. Essential but easily forgotten.
A book This is my favourite thing about flying. I’m not keen on headphones at all so my flight is all about reading the book that I have taken time to chose especially for the flight. A paperback of course, a light read, nothing that requires too much concentration. I usually chose one that I have read before, along time ago. Last trip I picked Nudge by Richard H Thaler and Cass Sunstein. Fab to revisit and dip in and out of.